Webinar on E-Commerce

Today, Permanent Mission of Pakistan in Vienna, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and Ministry of Commerce Islamabad jointly arranged a webinar on developing a policy framework for digital economy and promoting e-commerce. This was attended by senior officials from UNCITRAL, Ministries of Commerce, Law and Justice, Information Technology and Telecommunication, Federal Board of Revenue, NADRA and State Bank of Pakistan.

Ambassador Aftab Ahmad Khokher, in his welcome remarks, thanked Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of UNCITRAL, for organizing the webinar to share expertise of UNCITRAL with Pakistani experts regarding the latest developments and legal reforms in electronic commerce. He appreciated the work of UNCITRAL for modernization and harmonization of international business and commerce rules to incorporate the latest developments and technological advancements. He said that CPEC was playing a pivotal role in economic development in Pakistan. He said that the government had formulated an E-Commerce policy to effectively promote and encourage businesses to go online and foster holistic growth of e-commerce in Pakistan.

Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret appreciated active engagement of Pakistan in legislative activities of UNCITRAL. Luca Castellani, Secretary Working Group IV and Alexander Kunzelmann, Legal Officer,briefed about work of UNCITRAL for Identity Management and Trust Services and its future work in digital workspace. They generated interesting discussion about the current legislation of Pakistan and international best practices about e-commerce.Soo Hyun Kim, Economic Affairs Officer, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), highlighted various aspects of trade facilitation and post pandemic recovery.While moderating the discussion, Caroline Nicholas, Senior Legal Officer of UNCITRAL, appreciated the legal framework of Pakistan for e-commerce and its active role in legislative work of UNCITRAL.

Ms. Aisha Humaera, Joint Secretary from Ministry of Commerce briefed the participants about Pakistan’s E-Commerce policy and its nine pillars. Talking about potential growth envisioned due to digitalization of trade, she said that Pakistan would immensely benefit by increase in GDP and significant creation of jobs by 2025.

Pakistan appreciates the important work of UNCITRAL for improving legal framework for facilitation of international trade. The Mission will intensify its engagement with UNCITRAL so that Pakistan can benefit from its expertise relating to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and investment treaty framework.

Vienna, 

18^th February, 2021